New 50-Dollar Note To Honour Late ECCB Governor

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) will be releasing a new EC$50 banknote honouring late governor Sir Dwight Venner.

The $50 bill, which was approved at the ECCB Monetary Council’s last meeting as a permanent tribute to Sir Dwight’s legacy, will feature his likeness and will replace the bill that bears the Brimstone Fort in St Kitts and the Piton mountains St Lucia.

THE BACK OF THE CURRENT EC$50 BANKNOTE.

Sir Dwight served as ECCB governor from December 1989 until November 2015. He died just over a year later, after 26 years of service in his position at the ECCB that serves as a central bank for Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin islands.

The St Kitts-based ECCB said in a statement that Sir Dwight had served ECCB member countries and the wider Caribbean with distinction.

“As a lasting tribute to his sterling contribution, the ECCB engaged the services of De La Rue, the authorized printer of its circulation banknotes, to prepare design concepts for a new $50 note bearing the image of Sir Dwight, in addition to the standard security features of the existing banknotes,” it said.

“The $50 banknote is the second highest denomination of the EC currency in circulation, which makes it a fitting mark of respect to Sir Dwight.”

The ECCB did not give a date for the release of the new banknote. It said the process of final design approvals and production means that it will still be some time before the new note comes into circulation.